Derekh

I picked my car back up today and I was speeding on the way home and got nailed for wreckless driving. He said I was doing 94 but he could not have clocked me because I drove past as he was stopped leaving another incident so no way could he have got me with that. Anyway I know I am the only one to blame. The cop was telling me to get a lawyer and it could be reduced to a speeding ticket since I have no record. How serious is this? Can I lose my DL? Would you guys suggest getting a lawyer or just pleading my case to the judge? This was an Illinois state trooper.
on the ticket it says H.H. Radar (I assume H.H. = Hand held?) but does he have to prove he got me with the radar? Cause no way did he get me with radar! He was on the side of the road and had someone pulled over when I flew by. He told me had to chase me down. So I wonder how he could say i was doing 94mph, when their wasn't even room on the freeway to do 90+. I basically drove past him on an on-ramp and meged into traffic when he caught me I was just cruising along.

Tom2

Is a speed of 94 MPH considered reckless driving in itself?

anothercls

lawyer and fight it...
More IL people can chime in as they know better.

greyjhu

In the future, ask the officer how he clocked your speed, and from where.

I had good luck w/o a lawyer when fighting two tickets issued at once, speeding and negligent driving. It truly depends. I would call and find out what H.H. Radar means. Was the officer out of his car, did he have his window down as you passed??

If he indeed clocked you at 94 mph w/ radar, I would hire a lawyer. If he paced you in his car, fight it and tell the judge how fast you were going when he was DIRECTLY behind you-

Goodluck!

CLeanATL

i would contest it on my own. if the cop dosnt show to court, it will get thrown out and you will pay court costs at most....what was the speed limit?

Derekh

speed limit = 55
I was speeding but he added a bunch of other stuff to it that never happened said I was weaving through traffic and cut people off. I was speeding on the ramp as I merged and quickly got in the left lane and was driving normally the rest of the way.

heyitsme

Think a cop can check speed out the front or rear of their vehicle.

CHONATION

IF YOU GET A LAWYER:
1. LISTEN TO WHATEVER HE SAYS, DONT BE STUBBORN

IF YOU DONT GET A LAWYER:
1. TALK TO THE D.A. BEFORE HAND
2. BE VERY EARLY
3. DRESS NICELY
4. IF U LIVE WITH PARENTS, BRING UR DAD!!!

Derekh

Yea but he wasn't shooting radar like he claims. I flew past him as he had another car stopped. He chased me down and arrested me a few mile later

CLeanATL

well, when you are double the speed limit they can take you to jail. this is clearly your word against his. (florida law) how much is the ticket? if your driving record is clean you have a good chance in court. age?

CLeanATL

was the cop young?

CLeanATL

ARRESTED?

Derekh

I am 24, the cop was young, I was put in cuffs taken to the station my car got towed. He never read me my rights. He also told me I would be finger printed but that never happened either? I have a clean driving record (I think) I rolled through a stop sign a few years back and went to driving school for it so my record should be clean?

CLeanATL

i've been arrested 4 times (not good) i have never had my rights read to me well maybe once, ... i'm not sure about laws in other states but it is possible the stop sign violation is still there..... if you were never finger printed thats strange..... did you stay overnight? bond out? released?

UNCTYPE-S

bro in december i got a wreckless driving ticket for doing 96 in a 65 on my way down to eastern by a state trooper. i didnt get a lawyer, i went to court and plead guilty. i requested supervision (which u should do) but the judge rejected it. so it went on my record for a year, got my license back and had to pay a 316 dollar fine.

in illinois, anything 30mp+over is considered wreckless driving. i know it sucks, but ya just have to pay the consequences.

i heard anything over 30 if ur going 100mph u could be arrested, but dont know for sure.

my aim name is unc0808 if u wanna ask me anything.

Derekh

Thanks man I think that is what I will do.

kensteele

So let's deal with the facts so you can get to the meat of the argument [in court] and hopefully make a good case for leniency or go for the win. So don't waste your time with the following:

1.Whatever it says, HH, handheld, radar, whatever. Sounds like you got clocked with radar but since the waves are invisible and you don't have a detector, you can't ever possibly know. Bottom line is you were clocked. Cop can clock you, no matter the position. I've been thru IL plenty of times to know that cops aren't so stupid as to ignore traffic while they are writing citations. They aren't monkeys. Plenty of times I got a full dose of instant on radar from an "idle" squad car.

2.You can't challenge radar, how it works, what position it was in, etc. Radar is baked in IL, don't spend your time on it cause if you lose that battle, you can't switch to another defense.

3.So it was a few miles later when he caught you and you were not speeding when he hit his lights. Do the math, it's not calculus. It's ONLY makes sense. Not only is it lawful but also if it was you that he clocked speeding at the time, none of that matters. Your only recourse is to create doubt that that car he clocked might have been SOMEBODY else speeding, not you. There is no due process when it comes to how long before a cop flags you, unless it's unreasonable of course.

4.Don't need your rights read to you. You will have your rights read to you at arraignment if required. You are better off NOT having your rights read to you anyway.

5.IL is tough, esp the troopers. They don't just skip out on court dates cause if they do, it's only a sign that they're writing bogus tickets and don't care. If by miracle or some conflict they don't show up, perhaps you should check into whether this is a only a traffic violation which means it could get dismissed or is reckless something more that could get rescheduled.

*6.Get a lawyer, you'll need one. If you weren't doing 94, what were you doing? Perhaps in the 80s? As a speeder, you have to understand that if you drive that fast, it might get a little hairy at times. The best way to put this behind you is to work the system, write or call the judge/da, defer, get a lawyer, plea bargain and compromise, but don't try to fight and worse don't try to come off as challenging the system that has "effectively" caught thousands of other reckless drivers. Your best reasource is to lean on the fellow ILers here for suggestions/advice. Good luck!

BTW, I've been cited several dozen speeding/warning tickets in half as many states and not once have I been written a ticket for an amount higher than I was actually doing. Never. But I guess there's a first for everything.

Derekh

yea, I goal wasn't to challenge it, just some advise. I think I will plead guilty and ask for supervision. I was just wondering how much trouble I was in. I don't know if this is as serious as a DUI? I really don't want to lose my liscense.

TypeSKid

A lawyer on a wreckless can't guarantee shit.


I got nailed for 88 in a 55. I didn't have my detector because my stupid bitch ex lied about having it.

Mine was a $400 fine, and 6 points. 6 months SUSPENDED, NO CHANCE OF RESTRICTED. I even went back the next day and asked the judge and he immediately denied it. My record isn't even that bad either, I only have one other ticket that's still on my record. And yes, its considered a misdeameanor charge in most states now and is ALMOST as bad as a DUI. It FUCT my insurance pretty badly too.



I didn't care about getting the ticket and losing my license tho. I've had enough legal trouble this past year and this wasn't that bad. I was jus glad all my legal trouble was over. !

I was TRASHED, so was my buddy who i was with when i got pulled over. I was jus glad i didn't get a dui too.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

... Riiiight, because a reckless driving ticket is a misdemeanor and the District Attorney takes over, instead of the cop.


Definitely get a lawyer. For a case like this, 500-1,000 is a reasonable retainer. I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume that you're a teenager. If you tried to fight the case on your own against the D.A., he/she will have a field trip on your ass. Definitely get a lawyer and get it dropped. The retainer is well worth it over time.

Good luck and uh, be more careful next time.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

You say it like you are proud of not getting caught driving drunk. I hope you crash your car next time you drive drunk. Maybe that'll put everything into perspective for you.

Eggplant-EX

Lawyer up. You'd be amazed at the difference when you have a lawyer by your side....

TypeSKid

PURE TURD. Shut the fuck up.


I don't drink at all anymore. Get ahold of yourself and your gay ass 6 year old temper.

Why don't you go stand in front of bars and protest, you fuckin hater!

Dark_Knight

got singled out and was told that I was clocked at 133!!! (no way, the CLs cant do that easy, and i didnt know i was going that fast or near it...esp on 2 am on a Monday) and had a V1, never when off! ...they slapped me with careless driving and tailgating, then impounded the car ovenight and took my V1, they let me go and got 6 points for it! ...there was no DA and the fine was about $200 ...bastards who singled you out must have been trying to get some comission kickback or meet their quota for the month...lol, get a lawyer and make sure the cop shows the Radar was checked for accuracy that SAME DAY!!!!

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I don't hate bars. In fact, I condone social drinking. I'm a moderate- to heavy-drinker and I won't lie to you -- I love going to the bars and drinking because it's a good time.

But what I do NOT condone is drunk driving. It's because of people like you that I have to be extra, extra careful driving at 2:10 in the morning. Call a fucking cab; call a friend; walk. I don't care. Just don't drive drunk. You said it like you were proud of not getting caught.

I swear to God that if a drunk driver harms any of my family members or friends, he/she will fucking meet a bloody death in my hands, along with the rest of the fucking family.

I'm glad you don't drink anymore, because if you can't accept the responsibility of not driving when drunk, then you don't deserve to drink... or drive. I hope you lose your license. Perhaps that will help you lighten up a little bit.

UNCTYPE-S

yeah man when i went to court i was kind of caught blind sided.
i figured, if the cop didnt show i would plead guilty and get off free, but that wasnt the answer.

what ended up happening was, a cop 20 minutes before court was holding guilty and non guilty forms. he asked us all how we were gonna plead before we even went in there. so i thought to myself 2 choices:

1-fill out the non guilty form and hopefully she doesnt show up in the next 20 minutes otherwise im screwed.

2-fill out the guilty form and handle the consequences, but there was a chance that she didnt show up, i would be screwed anyway/

so, with 20 minutes before i was focked! i just told them i was gonna plead guilty cause i had no clue if she was there yet or going to show up. well ended up being, she didnt show up, i had to plea guilty and pay a fine.

i didnt wanna lie by saying not guilty but filling out a guilty form. ahhh well

kensteele

You have to right to plea not guilt.
You can always change your plea at any time....right up until the verdit.

2003type-s6

You should take the advice of KenSteele, and slow down. I know most states, anything 30 mph over the limit is arrestable. Better believe the cop is going to show up for court, too. Get a lawyer, and floow his advice.

GINge!

our cars are so quiet and fast, its almost too easy to speed in them. I can hear my watch ticking at 170 kph.. I need to slow down too. thanks for the reminder.

UNCTYPE-S

thats what i am saying. when i was doing 96, it totally felt like i was going 70. soo smooth and quiet i couldnt tell at all and plus it was open road for like 80 miles straight.

pimpscls

damn all thses tickets stories are scaring me, making me wanna slow down

zeroday

you are a total fuckstick. how old are you anyway..12?? i lost a buddy to a drunk driver and reading shit like this from morons like you makes me fucking sick. both you and your gay drunk lover should die.

linto

Get a lawyer, the cop broke a lot of laws if he failed to read you your rights.

TypeSKid

i think it makes you feel good to go off on others. The reason is because you have a sad existance in life. Perhaps you should mind your own business. I"m 26, and I can guarantee that I'm far more successful than you are. You need to learn to control your mouth and keep your opinions to yourself.


I think it would be funny to see you step to me in person and run your mouth. You have a computer to hide behind, and I think that makes you think you have balls of steel.

How come you don't get out of here and run your mouth on the Z forum? I think like, 90% of the people on here either goof on you, or ignore you due to your high levels of ignorance.


So the next time you wanna criticize me, why not just do it in person? I only live in dc, so I wouldn't mind meeting you have 1/2 way to knock your fucking teeth down your cock sucking mouth.
Me and my 'gay friend' would probably come close to killing you if we both met up with you, so I'll take you on my own, one on one, pussy. you aren't man enough to back your words up though. You need to be careful who you run your mouth to, kid. Even if it is online.

So whenever you wanna run your mouth to me again about your gay ass thoughts on my life, let's meet up and you can say it to my face. Goofy ass pussy. Go play with your twat and get a life while you're at it.


I don't take offense to it, simply because you're a loser with nothing better to do with your time. If anything I feel bad for the people that had to raise you and put up with your bullshit for so long.

So do us all a favor here, crawl under the rock you came out from, and ask your mom why you weren't swallowed instead of conceived.


Zero----fits you perfectly. a ZERO in life.


So before you type out a ridiculous, out of your ass statement to me again. Forget about it. Send me a PM, meet up with me, and stay it t my face. If you're really man enough to say it online, then say it to my fucking face, cocksucker.


Now go back to playing with that two inch nub you call a dick, pussy.

kensteele

Get informed please: http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/mirand.../mirandaqa.htm